Obama’s admission was in some ways the completion of a metamorphosis that began even during the 2008 campaign, as it became likely that he would be elected. After promising to throw out so-called politics as usual, Obama broke his first promise by rejecting public funding for his campaign because he could raise millions more on his own. He also ran negative ads against his opponent, John McCain, in that race, too…

Obama is survived by a president who will spend most of the next six months on the stump, railing against his Republican opponent as he tries to retain political power. A memorial service will be held at a fundraiser today in Colorado. In lieu of flowers, donations are being accepted at the Priorities USA Action super PAC.

***

Frank explained: “Everybody has sadistic impulses, and usually they come out when people are feeling cornered. Bush had no filters on his sadism. He just attacked. Obama processes his sadism to the point where he gets somewhat more acceptable. It’s actually mocking a person, like Romney, but it’s also mocking his ideas … The eye-rolling is something his mother did. It’s a way of putting someone else down without ever being directly confrontational.”

Increasingly in the past few weeks, especially since Obama formally declared his candidacy for reelection and the former Massachusetts governor has begun pulling even with him in public opinion surveys, the president is embracing full-frontal combat. Frank theorized that Obama is simply “annoyed,” much like Jon Lovitz’s Dukakis, that a man he considers his political inferior is suddenly in a position to beat him. “He has an edge to him, and the edge comes out when he’s feeling pressed,” Frank said.

***

While reveling in these fights, the president has not done nearly as much to explain what he would do in a second term, particularly to accelerate the still-sluggish economic recovery. Unless he fills in that picture more effectively, these wedge issues might not hold his key supporters, much less prevent further erosion among the groups, such as blue-collar and older whites, who resisted him even in 2008. Put simply, Obama may not win another term unless he provides Americans a better idea of what he would do with it…

Obama has engaged GOP rival Mitt Romney over the economy, but primarily at the level of philosophy and biography. Usually Republican presidential candidates stress broad ideological arguments about Washington’s economic role while Democrats tout individual programs. So far, Romney and Obama have reversed roles. Even without clarifying every detail, Romney has identified an ambitious list of programmatic goals, particularly cutting taxes, imposing a constitutional limit on federal spending, and converting Medicare into a premium-support, or voucher, system…

The economy’s trajectory will probably shape the November result more than all of these skirmishes will. Yet the central challenge for every president seeking reelection is to convince Americans that he will improve their lives in a second term. And, today, frets one senior Democrat close to the White House, “voters don’t have a sense of what Obama would do to make the economy stronger.” The wedge issues, and the doubts Obama is raising about Romney, are helping the president retain some voters who might be tempted to abandon him. But Obama would be playing with fire to wager that he can hold enough of those voters without providing them a more compelling — and specific — plan to improve their lives than he has offered so far.

***

The president has tried to distract from America’s economic misery by playing up the so-called culture war. Earlier in the year he decided that he would force Catholic employers to provide contraception to their employees through their insurance plans, and he followed that swipe at social traditionalism by endorsing gay marriage. This embrace of Sixties liberalism has backfired. While contraception and gay marriage often receive popular support in national polls, Americans are far more conservative in the voting booth…

In 1980, Democratic president Jimmy Carter faced an uphill struggle for re-election. Yet, despite an index of inflation and unemployment far higher than Obama’s, he was actually doing slightly better in the polls. In March of that year, Carter led his Republican opponent, Ronald Reagan, by around 25 per cent. By May, Gallup gave him a lead of 49 to 41 per cent – higher than Obama’s today. Carter’s advantage evaporated in the months that followed, but he regained ground in October and by the last week he was running even.

None the less, Carter eventually suffered a landslide defeat. The scale of his humiliation was hidden by the fact that people were unwilling to commit themselves to the conservative Ronald Reagan until the very last minute. It was only when they went into the polling booth and weighed up all the hurt and humiliation of the past four years that they cast their vote against the president. It looks like Barack Obama will be the Jimmy Carter of 2012.

***

Thus, to a very real degree, 2008’s candidate of hope stands poised to become 2012’s candidate of fear. For many Democrats, this is just fine and dandy, for they believe that in the Romney-Republican agenda there is plenty to be scared of. For others in the party in both politics and business, however, the new Obama posture is cause for concern. From the gay-­marriage decision to the onslaught on Bain, they see the president and his team as coming across as too divisive, too conventional, and too nakedly political, putting at risk Obama’s greatest asset—his likability—with the voters in the middle of the electorate who will ultimately decide his fate.

Whichever side is right, one thing is undeniable. For anyone still starry-eyed about Obama, the months ahead will provide a bracing revelation about what he truly is: not a savior, not a saint, not a man above the fray, but a brass-knuckled, pipe-hitting, red-in-tooth-and-claw brawler determined to do what is necessary to stay in power—in other words, a politician…

Nothing could more garishly illustrate a bedrock truth about the campaign that lies before us: It will bear about as much resemblance to 2008 as Romney does to Nicki Minaj. In the campaign prior, any mention of Wright caused a collective coronary in Chicago; this time, it provokes high-fives. In the campaign prior, Team Obama boldly bid to expand the map; this time, it is playing defense. In the campaign prior, the candidate himself sought support from the widest possible universe of voters; this time, instead of trying to broaden his coalition, he is laboring to deepen it. Indeed, 2012 is shaping up to be an election that looks more like 2004 than 2008: a race propelled by the mobilization of party fundamentalists rather than the courtship of the center.

If Obama wins a second term this way, the implications for governing could prove salutary—or god-awful. The president, energized by the prospect of a debate about “big things,” purports to take the optimistic view. “I think the general election will be as sharp a contrast between the two parties as we’ve seen in a generation,” Obama told Rolling Stone. “My hope is that if the American people send a message to [the GOP] … there’s going to be some self-reflection going on—that it might break the fever.” And, hey, who knows, crazier things have happened. Likelier, though, is that an incessantly negative, base-driven election will yield an uglier outcome. More polarization. More acrimony. More gridlock. (Yippee!)

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He certainly can deliver a line. His ’04 convention speech was the first time I ever saw or heard him. I had no idea what he was all about when I listened to that speech…and I hate to admit it, but by the time he got done, I was completely impressed. Knew right then and there he would be on the rise. After I checked him out, I sounded like Emily Litella.

Ok I was in the Not Mitt team during the primary. But I gotta say I was completely wrong. I think he’s a good candidate. He has some weak spots but I think his strengths outweigh his weak spots.

terryannonline on May 28, 2012 at 9:19 PM

But of course you knew electing an unqualified fool with a propensity towards marxism based on skin color would lead to this

They were all good candidates (good being a relative term). Any one of them would be where Romney is now. Romney just happened to have his plan in place for the last 5 years.
People can absorb a lot of fatigue and scandal, but not simultaneously with a horrible economy. Hence, the obama fatigue factor has set in 5 or 6 years early.
But of course you knew electing an unqualified fool with a propensity towards marxism based on skin color would lead to this.

FedEx please. (Immediately.)
Lol. I had family over today, and we had some BBQ. But no steak. Rather, we had the usual hamburgers and hot dogs. (No vodka soaked watermelon?!!?! OC, you should send a piece of that, too.)

My porterhouse was 1 1/2 lbs. Took up a whole dinner plate. The vodka watermelon dessert were individual little watermelons cut in half, soaked in Stoli and served with fresh pineapple boats (vodka infused) my cousins know how to party… We had lotsa’ Mexican beers too.

That bores some folks. Hopefully, more will realize that our Community-Organizer-In-Chief is a pathetic excuse for a head of state.

RedCrow on May 28, 2012 at 9:31 PM

I think his weak spots are being a flip flopper and pretty bland on camera. But I will accept someone who is bland and a flip flopper if they flopped in the right and direction and also competent. So far Romney has shown he was a competent businessman and he’s running a competent campaign.

The vodka watermelon dessert were individual little watermelons cut in half, soaked in Stoli and served with fresh pineapple boats (vodka infused) my cousins know how to party… We had lotsa’ Mexican beers too.

OmahaConservative on May 28, 2012 at 9:33 PM

…just noticed that above my post…I just got inebriated by the dessert!

The voting results in November will have to be out of necessity akin to the lopsided vote in 1984…Reagan v. Mondale.

Otherwise, if it is close, just a few percentage pints, fraud will prevail, and if it is anything like 2000…Bush v. Gore…Obama will not relinquish the White House until all the court battles are fought and won…so much so that the scheduled inauguration in January may indeed have to be postponed, citing of course, national urgency and all that sort of tripe…and there will be civil disturbances…as the usual suspects take to the streets to “protest” their leader being tossed out of office.

It cannot be a close election.

It must not be.

Obama must go.

And his departure must be heralded by a sweeping defeat across all 57 50 states.

Yep. If I ever have to go to Omaha, I’m gonna do my best to “impose my company upon you.” (Lol)

RedCrow on May 28, 2012 at 9:38 PM

Ya’ just gotta’ know Omaha gets the best beef. I used to take carry ons and checked bags of beef back to California the entire thirty years I lived in San Diego. Most were slaughtered and cut by my Danish cousins…

Bland on camera?
Remember, everything’s relative.
I haven’t liked several of his appearances, but we don’t have a Ronald Reagan. (Bill Clinton was no Ronald Reagan.)

As you said, he’s run a good campaign so far. Although I don’t see the appeal, Obama’s empty suit has got to be wearing on many indies. The man’s a complete slacker and under-achiever–totally worng for POTUS.

I firmly believe 0 was very successful at bringing us together. We are as a people more against 0 than for. 0 is Done! Its all but over for him. He also managed to bring all the progressives out into the light of day. They are now as vulnerable as 0. I am glad to know who they are. The American people have a better understanding of who they are and how they operate. The American people are in the process of a huge rejection of what progressives stand for. This is good. ; )

Part of what makes all of this so ridiculous is the fact that Bain Capital was bailing out companies just like Obama, except Bain wasn’t stealing anyone else’s money to do it. Obama just wants the government to have control over all the finances of this country.

hey fellas. Take a timeout and go to patterico.com and listen to the alleged Patterico SWATter call into Lee Stranahan’s radio show. He plays both the radio callin and the original 911 call. Eerily, the caller also references Michelle Malkin’s cousin’s disappearance–Marizela–missing from Seattle >1yr.

Funny to watch the anti Roms (mosly disgruntled former SP fans) getting all nervous over Romney’s improvement in the polls. You would almost think they want Obama to win again.

CW on May 28, 2012 at 9:10 PM

….let’s see! …When there was a dozen candidates…Romney just edged Ron Paul at the bottom for me…and I still am a BIG Sarah Palin fan…and finally after all of that…I am now a big Romney fan because I don’t want to keep fighting old battles every day…and look at the one that now counts in November…AM I PHUCKED UP…OR WHAT?
(:->)…cue to Bmore to play the Beatle’s “Come together!”

Obama’s illness got the best of him late Monday, as he announced that his campaign for four more years in the White House would be based not on optimism, but rather the shady corporate record of his opponent, Mitt Romney

Anger can be tough to manage. I have always had trouble keeping my powder dry. 0′s anger grows out of the pressure of desperation. He knows this, which surprises me, yet he is helpless. This only seems to further his misunderstanding of his situation and intensifies the anger. Which in turn creates the perfect scenario for bad judgment, missteps, he is having many.

Obama is simply “annoyed,” much like Jon Lovitz’s Dukakis, that a man he considers his political inferior is suddenly in a position to beat him. “He has an edge to him, and the edge comes out when he’s feeling pressed,” Frank said.

You tell me how any ‘libertarian’ can possibly vote for a ‘rat. ‘Rats have absolutely zero to do with liberty, except promoting abortion by whipping up the masses into believing it’s a ‘freedom’ issue. Art Bell pissed me off when he in a quite proud voice stated that he voted for this piece of sh!t.

That’s why, as Milton Friedman precociously hinted, they got tired of the self-adopted term “liberals”.

While the meaning could be taken as “someone devoted to the principles of liberty”, they realized that no one bought it, anymore. So, now, we’re not supposed to call them that–it’s “progressives” now–at least, for the next decade or so.

No one seems to remember that before Katrina N’Orleans had taken hundreds of millions of federal dollars to shore up their banks and levees, and all that money went POOF!, vanished faster than Corzine’s billions.